Ancient One
The Ancient One was the Sorcerer Supreme and the leader of the Masters of the Mystic Arts, who mentored Doctor Strange in the use of magic following his accident. She was challenged by a former student, Kaecilius, who had become corrupted by the Dark Dimension and sought to bring Dormammu to Earth. The Ancient One gathered her army of Masters of Mystic Arts but it was soon discovered that she had been lying to her students all these years and had been drawing her own power from the Dark Dimension, mortifying Baron Mordo. During one final battle, the Ancient One was fatally wounded and despite the best efforts of Doctor Strange and Christine Palmer, she accepted her fate and died. Biography Early Life The Ancient One is a woman of descent who helped Jonathan Pangborn to walk again using magic and tutored Karl Mordo, Kaecilius, Wong and many others in sorcery. She often draws power from the Dark Dimension to fuel her immortality but forbids others from doing the same. Retrieving the Bow and Arrow of Apollon To be added Stolen Spell to battle the Zealots.]] When Kaecilius steals a spell from one of her books, the Book of Cagliostro, she drags the Zealots into the Mirror Dimension and expertly fights them by channeling magic through her Magic Fans. She bends reality to kill many of the Zealots but Kaecillius and a few others escape.Doctor Strange Meeting with a sceptic Astral Form out of his body.]] Mordo brings Doctor Stephen Strange to her as the latter hopes she can mend his damaged hands. The Ancient One tells him to expand his mind but Strange remains stubbornly sceptical. She pushes his Astral Form out of his body and then sends him through several dimensions and realities. She sarcastically asks "can he find that in a gift shop?" Strange begs her to teach him but she refuses as his arrogance and headstrong attitude remind her of Kaecillius. Mordo convinces her that Strange could be of use to them in fighting Kaecillius and she eventually lets him study magic. Training Doctor Strange .]] She shows Strange how spells work and that it takes years of practise to reach an advanced level. After witnessing his difficulty in using magic, she promptly abandons him on Mount Everest as an encouragement for him to finally work out how to wield his Sling Ring. Mordo declares "not again" suggesting that she has used this method of 'encouragement' before to varying success. Strange begin again rapidly progressing in magic so she offers him the Mirror Dimension where he can train without affecting the Physical World. Battle at the Sanctum Sanctorum After Strange manages to fend off the Zealots from destroying the New York Sanctum, the Ancient One offers him the title of 'Master' and a position as Protector of the Sanctum after the previous one was killed by Kaecillius. Strange refuses and alludes to her drawing power from the Dark Dimension (something she never outright denies) in order to fuel her immortality. She warns him to choose his next words carefully before leaving. once again.]] During the second attack on the Sanctum, she saves Strange and Mordo from the Zealots and fights them herself. She also confirms that she does draw power from the Dark Dimension when the symbol appears on her forehead. During the fight she uses her Magic Fans to duel but is stabbed by Kaecillius and thrown hundreds of stories to the Physical World ground below. Death Though she is rushed to hospital, she leaves her body in Astral Form and goes outside. Strange's Astral follows her and she explains her reasons. She never liked drawing power from the Dark Dimension but used it to help her protect the world from countless threats and attacks. She knows that this is the moment when she will die and tells Strange that he needs Mordo's firm rule abiding nature but Mordo needs his flexibility. She slows the world around them just to watch the snow fall before her Astral vanishes signalling her death. Personality According to Mordo, the Ancient One is "steadfast, but unpredictable; merciless, yet kind." Powers and Abilities Powers *'Immortality': The Ancient One achieved immortality by drawing power from the Dark Dimension to fuel her long life. However, this form of immortality only suppresses the aging process, meaning that she can still be fatally injured. Abilities To be added Equipment *'Sling Ring': A mystical object which enables the wearer to open a fiery portal to another location. *'Magic Fans': Two ordinary fans she channels her magic through to wield as weapons. Relationships Allies *Masters of the Mystic Arts - Disciples **Karl Mordo **Wong **Daniel Drumm † **Tina Minoru **Hamir **Doctor Strange *Christine Palmer Enemies *Dragon Raiders **Jiãó ào Zhànshì *Zealots **Kaecilius † - Former Disciple turned Enemy and Killer *Dormammu Trivia *In the comics, the Ancient One was the previous holder of the title of Sorcerer Supreme who transcended into the spiritual plane after his death, becoming a minor cosmic entity. Behind the Scenes *Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has stated that in the Marvel Cinematic Universe there have been several individuals who have held the title of The Ancient One throughout the ages: "As we were developing this film we looked at The Ancient One as a mantle more than a specific person. The sorcerers have been around for millennia, protecting us from things we didn’t know about until this story. There have been multiple Ones, even if this one has been around for five hundred years, there were others. This is a mantle, and therefore felt we had leeway to cast in interesting ways."Expect “Mind-Bending Weirdness” From DOCTOR STRANGE, Says Kevin Feige *The casting of Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One has been the subject of much controversy, with many accusing it of . Screenwriter C. Robert Cargill explained that the motivation behind the casting was that the character in the comics is considered a racist caricature originating from , a country that has suffered much political unrest : "The Ancient One was a racist stereotype who comes from a region of the world that is in a very weird political place. He originates from Tibet. So if you acknowledge that Tibet is a place and that he’s Tibetan, you risk alienating one billion people who think that that’s bullshit and risk the Chinese government going, ‘Hey, you know one of the biggest film-watching countries in the world? We’re not going to show your movie because you decided to get political.’ If we decide to go the other way and cater to China in particular and have him be in Tibet… If you think it’s a good idea to cast a Chinese actress as a Tibetan character, you are out of your damn fool mind and have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about."EXCLUSIVE! DR. STRANGE WRITER “C. ROBERT CARGILL" - Double Toasted Interview Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige also stated that the character's race and gender were changed to avoid stereotyping: "The casting of The Ancient One was a major topic of conversation in the development and the creative process of the story. We didn’t want to play into any of the stereotypes found in the comic books, some of which go back as far as 50 years or more. We felt the idea of gender swapping the role of The Ancient One was exciting. It opened up possibilities, it was a fresh way into this old and very typical storyline. Why not make the wisest bestower of knowledge in the universe to our heroes in the particular film a woman instead of a man?".Kevin Feige On ‘Captain America: Civil War’ And All Things Marvel – Deadline Q&A * , and were originally considered for the role.Morgan Freeman Among Those Eyed For 'The Ancient One' Role In DOCTOR STRANGE References External Links * * Category:Doctor Strange (film) Characters Category:Comics Characters Category:Humans Category:Females Category:Bald Hair Category:Green Eyes Category:Masters of the Mystic Arts Leaders Category:Multilingual Characters Category:Deceased Characters Category:Characters Killed by Kaecilius